Lurker > Waveshine_2001

Metallic Madness Zone Act 2
EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE/.

trdl23 posted...

Ask and I shall deliver.

Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia / Le Nozze di Figaro)

Technically he was a print character first, but everyone knows him from the operas

yoooo opera!!! I love opera. I never saw that one unfortunately, but I've seen some other operas live like Pagliacci and La Boheme.

Also regarding this, apparently I didn't nominate yet. I said I would get to it eventually. uhh well I will go through everyone's current noms then maybe decide.

VOTE:
The Fox's Lair

Somehow, I don't know what to vote in match 1. I also don't have time for match 3 lol oops

Clannad - Snowfield: Very simple but pretty song. Definitely makes me think of snowflakes softly gliding in the wind. I wish it had a stronger melody though.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Sword of the Surviving Guardian: Really good song that would sound so much better with real instruments.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Try, Try Again: Yep, that's a Mario and Luigi song alright. Very bouncy and whimsical, befitting of the tone of the series. I love the flute too ofc.

Final Fantasy X - Challenge: I would like this so much better without the constant siren sound in the background.

Zoku Satsuriku no Django - Cold Metal: Alan Wake....SIKE! Anyways, it's cool. I appreciate the energy and passion in the vocals, and the orchestration is epic. Despite this, the vocals still aren't really my thing but that's okay. Good song.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC - The Merciless Savior: Really solid song overall. I especially like the strings and the synths here.

Try, Try Again > The Merciless Savior > Sword of the Surviving Guardian >= Snowfield > Cold Metal >> Challenge

VOTES:
Sword of the Surviving Guardian
Try, Try Again
The Merciless Savior

Genshin Impact - No Turning Back: It's pretty cool and is a good improvement on Beats of Water Drops. Honestly, this is one of the weaker Genshin songs I've heard, and yet it's still one of the better songs in this contest and will probably easily earn my vote. Just goes to show how good Genshin music is really.

Mission T.H.I.N.K. - Level 4: It's kinda decent and has a nice and chill vibe. However, it lacks substance and is very repetitive. Overall, it's a fine and completely inoffensive song.

Kingdom Hearts II - Dearly Beloved: A classic for a reason. I really enjoy pretty much every version of Dearly Beloved, and this version is absolutely no exception. Very simple yet extremely emotive and beautiful (and to think this isn't even one of my favorite versions of this piece).

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim - Quatera Woods: I'm not a fan of the lead instrument, but all the other instruments are solid. Pretty nice melody too. A bit basic, but a good song overall.

Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World - Prontera Field: It's not my favorite RO song (Din Don Dan Dan and Castanets come to mind), but it's a solid piece. Pleasant strumming and vocals with some cool percussion backing.

Humanity - Hook: The instruments are cool, but other than that, this feels very random with very little coherency to it. I do think songs with a bit of improvision/randomness to them can add to their charm, but I feel like this piece takes that idea too far.

Dearly Beloved >>>>> No Turning Back >= Prontera Field >> Quatera Woods>> Level 4 > Hook

This is the second day in a row where I knew half the songs up today (usually I know none of the 6 songs). Funny how that happened.

VOTES:
No Turning Back
Dearly Beloved
Prontera Field

saying "up" just in case because I missed part of this day and want to get to it.

Phoenotopia Awakening - Caves of Mul: This is really solid tbh. Very well-produced song that is easy on the ears and pleasant to listen to. I'm surprised Aka, given all the hype it got pre-contest and back in BOST 6/vgmc 17, has to go up against a song this tough. I thought it would get an easier match, but oh well. At the very least, if Aka loses, it will be to a respectable pick.

[-Aka-] - Suna no Shiro -The Castle of Sand-: I would've voted Caves of Mul if it wasn't for the fact that this song has grown on me so much over the past year or so. Hell, I even kinda like the vocals due to the insanely cool harmony they have. And that instrumentation is just absolutely PEAK. Absolute banger, and to think that I love Suna Gin so much more than even this song is wild. They did not have to go this hard for an obscure VN.

Prince of Stride - I Don't Understand Your Feelings: I'm not the biggest fan of this song admittedly, but I do appreciate two things:
1. The background is funny.
2. Wait, is this the first time ever we've gotten an Otome game into the contest? That's honestly really cool if so! I respect it.

Edit: The song actually got a lot better as it progressed. Now I actually like it a good amount, but convincing me to vote it over a classic Xeno song is a hard sell, unfortunately :frowning:

Xenoblade Chronicles - You Will Know Our Names: MONADO MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ignore the fact that it's not actually Monday at the time of my posting this.

Blue Reflection: Second Light - A Hopeful Astraea: I remember this from Hindsight 2021. I didn't place it top 10, but I think it was close? Very pleasant song.

Blue Dragon - Release The Seal:
me: holy crap why is blue dragon so good?
composer list includes uematsu
oh yeah that checks out

Suna no Shiro -The Castle of Sand- > YWKON > Blue Reflection =? Blue Dragon >= Caves of Mul > IDUYF

VOTES:
Suna no Shiro -The Castle of Sand-
You Will Know Our Names
abstain

One of the best days in this contest thus far. Everything was 7.5+, and I now have three new favorite discoveries from today alone (Caves of Mul, Blue Dragon, and IDUYF). The only reason why the other 3 aren't favorite discoveries is because I already know/have heard them from before. I'm actually really impressed, and I don't say that often about any given day in these contests.

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - BLOW my GALE: Equestria Girls but make it anime I guess? Yeah, it's fine. I appreciate the high energy this song has, but it doesn't do much for me. I'm really not a fan of this type of singing. Alright song that isn't for me.

Penny's Big Breakaway - Balearic Birds: Bouncy, enjoyable song. It kinda sounds like a Salsa at certain points (I think?).

Mega Man 5 - Gravity Man: Decent chiptune that's a bit catchy. I don't enjoy its melody as much as some other MM songs, but it's cool.

No Man's Sky - Supermoon: I love the epic tone to this piece. It successfully conveys the grandness, mystery, and eminent danger that the vast universe can present, which is perfect given what the game is about.

Jojo's Fashion Show: World Tour - Barcelona: The dissonance in the vocals at the beginning is a bit of a turn-off for me, but the rest of the song is really solid. It's really funny that two people told ema they enjoyed the other Jojo song more (I think it was Jakarta?), but I guess she ended up going with this one anyways lol (it's still solid enough though).

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel - EXEC_ViiBaCi_MjiiRa/. : Ar series music is hit or miss to the extreme for me. Both of its vgmc winners and its one BOST winner was a total miss for me. On the other hand, one of my favorite discoveries from last year's vgmc was from this series iirc (I think it was Ar Tonelico EXEC_CHRONICLE=KEY/.).
Unfortunately, this one's more of a miss for me. The grating vocals combined with a melody I don't care for make for a rather obnoxious-sounding song to me. That being said, I really love the background instruments here so much to the point where I'm not even sure if I dislike the song or not in spite of the vocals just because of how cool the instruments are.

Balearic Birds > Supermoon >= Barcelona >> Gravity Man > EXEC_ViiBaCi_MjiiRa/. > BLOW my GALE

VOTES:
Balearic Birds
Supermoon
Barcelona

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst - Convergence: Reminds me of Minecraft music (complimentary)!

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) - CRISIS CITY ~THE FLAME ~ SKYSCRAPER ~ WHIRLWIND ~ TORNADO~: I don't think I've actually heard this song in full until now, but I've heard a lot about it. Yeah, I can see why it's popular. That bass/percussion is awesome.

World of Horror - Bulletin Combat: It's kinda cool but manages to be short yet too repetitive at the same time.

Arknights - Grown-up's Paradise: I can't read the title without thinking of "Gangsta's Paradise." Anyways, it's Mili, a group I usually can't stand because of the vocals. This song is kind of an exception though; I found the vocals to be pretty tolerable this time around, and the melody is great on top of that.

Freedom Planet 2 - Dragon Valley: Really solid piece. 1:46 reminds me of FF Crystal Chronicles for some reason, which is almost always a good thing. The rest of the song vaguely reminds me of Mario Kart (also a good thing). Also, I didn't realize the loop was an entire 5 minutes long! I don't remember it being that long back in the Supra contest...It feels like it repeats, but I'm not the best at being able to tell.

Sakura no Uta -Sakura no Mori no Ue wo Mau- - Dear My Friend: It's well-produced but isn't doing anything for me personally. Vocals aren't that bad though, and the guitar solo is cool.

Dragon Valley >= Crisis City >= Convergence >>> Grown-Up's Paradise >>>> Dear My Friend >= Bulletin Combat

VOTES:
CRISIS CITY ~THE FLAME ~ SKYSCRAPER ~ WHIRLWIND ~ TORNADO~
Grown-up's Paradise
Dragon Valley

Tribal Hunter - Dance of Wind: Fitting to the game's name, this sounds very tribal but with modern elements. I think it goes without saying that I love flutes, so the flute parts in this piece are a plus for sure. I especially like the section at 1:10. The strumming melody (idk the instrument) gets a bit repetitive after a while, but it's otherwise pretty catchy.

Noctuary - Chromesthesia: Whoa, this is honestly pretty impressive. Other than the trap section, I am pretty enamored with this piece. The synths and the beat are just really fun to listen to. Hell, I don't even mind the trap section as much as I would normally.

Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) - Stilt Village: David Wise rarely misses, and this piece is no exception. Just like with the Tribal Hunter piece, I love the tribal atmosphere to this piece with its more traditional-sounding percussion and flutes. Did I mention I love flutes? Of course I did. But I'm saying it again because yeah.

Pokmon Super Mystery Dungeon - Fire Island Volcano: I see the theming for today is mostly just tribal-sounding stuff huh? I love the celtic vibes in this one. Those drums are peak. This is easily one of my favorite fire level themes of all time, only very clearly beaten by Melty Molten Galaxy and Melty Monster Galaxy off the top of my head. I'm proud to call this one of my supports.

beatmania IIDX 25 CANNON BALLERS - Specimen of Life (Long Version): Oof, I'm really not a fan of the main vocalist(s) here (the choir vocals are cool though). Something about higher to very high-pitched Japanese female vocals just really rubs me the wrong way more often than not. That being said, I do love the strings and the eguitar solo. It's a well-produced song that I would probably like with a lower octave vocalist or instrumental-only.

Life Expectancy Service X-DAY - VEX DAY TRANSFUSE.EXE: I'm enjoying this more than I thought I would. This usually isn't my thing, but I actually kinda like it, and there's nothing super egregiously awful about this song that ticks me off.

Fire Island Volcano > Chromesthesia >= Stilt Village > Tribal Hunter >= VEX DAY TRANSFUSE.EXE >>> Specimen of Life (Long Version)

VOTES:
Chromesthesia
Fire Island Volcano
VEX DAY TRANSFUSE.EXE

Secret of Mana (2018) - Danger (ARM Version): It definitely goes pretty crazy. I'd probably like this better with real instruments. This version just hurts my ears. Not for me.

Metal Gear Solid - The Best Is Yet To Come: The good thing about this song getting in every year is that I get to hear it every year. Yeah, this is a treat. I actually really like the vocals (surprise!). The instrumentation is pretty cool too.

Mokou's Theme - Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke: I understand not caring for this song, but what I don't really understand is why some people hate this song with a passion. It has a pretty solid melody with some really nice synth build-ups at the 1:11 mark. Even though my tastes don't really align with b8, I'm glad that I enjoy BOTH of the songs that make it in every year. I feel like the only one who actually likes both other than the nominators themselves.

Honkai: Star Rail - Wildfire: Fun song even if Michael Martin Murphey did it better.

Yep, don't have time to vote in match 3 and I'm abstaining match 2 lol

VOTE
Metal Gear Solid - The Best Is Yet To Come

Haste_2 posted...

All these years VGMC has let music "that just missed the cut" waste away and die. As someone who nominated something that ended up on the bubble (but failed to qualify), I think it would neat if they could get a bonus matches somehow. For example, we could run bonus matches as the part of the daily poll (not among the matches we officially vote in), maybe even in a small tournament format. The songs that ended up on the 4/3 bubble, but ended up getting cut are the following:

Corporate Lifestyle Simulator | Scream | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdp8msd7Tbk
Dragon Poker | Jump-off! [Piano Trio Arr.] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5wPnbfbOIE
Fashion Police Squad | The Almighty Tailor | https://youtu.be/Lrgh71fWSxg
Gamera2000 | The End Of 1996 H.K. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJDkw5ZCjKA
Phantasy Star Online 2 | Assaults of Mother Cluster | https://youtu.be/OmWCtC8VZXc?si=6Hqke5EKAdNCZJOY
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse | Battle - f8 One Who Stands Against God | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S73sumMd3nQ
Sonic Unleashed | Endless Possibility | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9G3U8akOCk
Tekken 5 | Formless Like Water | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGN3V7rxOBw
Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6RR | Starry Night | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HwfayByQnY
Yakuza 4 | Whiskey & Rhapsody | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwLaHSryzXg

I second this. Honestly having a whole vgmc snubs bracket like with BOST would be interesting albeit a lot of work for the host. I wouldn't mind it though. Also my nom was also on the bubble rip lol

Arcaea - Lost in the Abyss: I like parts of the instrumentation (some of it is too harsh though), and the vocals aren't too bad. The repeated notes around the 3:30 mark were really unpleasant and unnecessary though imo. Not my thing, but I can see why someone might enjoy it.

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Black tar: uhh well. This song. I remember in one of my cs courses, I overheard two students talk about XCX music and brought up this song specifically in their conversation. One of them told the other something like, "I used to only like Black Tar as a joke, but now I listen to it unironically." I have yet to start liking it unironically (if I ever will). I kinda dislike it because rap really isn't my thing, but I do derive some ironic enjoyment from the lyrics at least.

Arknights - Morning Dew: Pretty song. Not a lot else to say about it.

Granblue Fantasy Versus - Morning Light Hymnus: Yooo I was helping a younger student with their coding assignment, and they told me they LOVE this game and its music. Well now I get to finally have a taste of its music, and yeah I'm a bit impressed. I love me some orchestra + choir. Good stuff. Adding this to my favorite discoveries of VGMC 18 list.

Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 ReMIX - Vector to the Heavens: I really need to listen to more KH music. I've listened to KH compilations in the past so I'm not sure whether or not I've heard this piece before, but it's fantastic. Love the transition to Dearly Beloved towards the end.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception - Nuedori: Nice song but I'm not really vibing with it personally. I don't mind it though.

Vector >> Morning Light >> Morning Dew> Nuedori > both match 1 songs.

VOTES:
abstain
Morning Light Hymnus
Vector to the Heavens

DDRMAX -Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix- CS - Kind Lady (Funk Disco Extended Mix): They weren't joking; this is really funky also hi me

Pokmon FireRed/LeafGreen - Battle! (Deoxys): Fun song, but there are plenty of other older Pokemon songs I like better. FR/LG from what I've heard isn't one of the better older Pokemon osts, and this song is no exception, unfortunately. If you had went with something from like Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, then there's a good chance I would've voted for it.

NieR: Automata - Weight of the World/Nouveau-FR Version: Thank god it's the French version and not say the Japanese version for example. I have only heard two versions admittedly, but the JPN version is too emotional to the point of sounding kinda cheesy when it really shouldn't sound that way. This one feels like the right amount of emotional. It also has a nice melody.

Undertale - Death by Glamour: Megalovania is really cool and all but kinda overrated. This however? Banger through and through. Excellent melody, funky beat, great buildup, it's all there. It deserves all the hype it got and still receives till this day.

Ys Seven - Isolated Island Consigned to Oblivion: I like the ominous feel of this piece and the use of flute (ofc I love flute). Great melody as well.

Miitopia - Battle: The Skyscraper: Oh crap, I would not have expected this from a Mii game. Really fun song!

VOTES:
Kind Lady (Funk Disco Extended Mix)
Death by Glamour
Isolated Island Consigned to Oblivion

Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers - Underground (Sewers): It sounds pretty cool albeit super outdated (though I can't really fault the song itself for that even if it does hurt my enjoyment a bit). Some parts of the piece even sound vaguely similar to the SMB underground theme (I wonder if it took any inspiration from that?). Nothing amazing, but pretty solid anyways. Also bonus points for harpsichord.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp - Sensei's Theme (CO Power): Ooh, so jazzy! Pretty nice progression and overall fun song. I just wish it was longer.

Lost Eden - The Magnificents: The mysterious vibe is cool, but I don't really like the execution of said vibe other than some of the instrumentation. The vocals feel a bit overbearing even if they do add to the mystifying tone the piece is going for, and some of the sound effects took me out of the song for a bit. Interesting piece but could be improved.

Xenosaga Freaks - [ai]: The vocals are tolerable so that's kinda good I suppose. The instrumentation, while repetitive, is pretty neat. Really fun bass and incredible synth runs. Overall, a simple inoffensive song that is enjoyable enough.

Musashi: Samurai Legend - Jungle Journey: I wish there was more variety in the instrumentation, but what's here is good. Melody is solid even if I wish it would progress more. Nice piece overall that could use some tweaks.

Astros Playroom - I'm Your GPU: Man, the instrumentation is so cool, but I'm personally not a fan of the robot singing which brings it down in my favor. Fun song that I would prefer as an instrumental piece.

Sensei's Theme >= [ai] >= Jungle Journey >= Sewers >= I'm Your GPU >= Magnificents

VOTES:
Sensei's Theme (CO Power)
[ai]
Jungle Journey
Really close matches today.

Strong-ish day. Everything was decent to good.

Your Inception >= INTERCEPTION - Town in Upheaval (Stage1) > Sherbet Land [CD] >= Prowler = Marionation Gear > Whisper of Relics

VOTES:
Sherbet Land [CD]
Your Inception
Prowler

Pilotwings 64 - Birdman: Pretty chill and enjoyable. It doesn't really progress much further than that, but what's there is all good.

LaTale - Chimera Lab: Somehow reminds me of Mario Kart Wii, which is always a plus. A bit repetitive and hurts my ears if I don't keep the volume low, but it's fun.

Star Ocean: The Second Story - We form in cystals: I wish the melody was clearer. They really didn't need to spam the symbols that much either. Otherwise pretty cool song with nice strings.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Kimidori Ver. - Necrofantasia ~ Arr.Demetori: Pretty epic, but I don't care for the melody too much. The guitar goes really hard in the middle of the section though.

RoboCop 3 (NES) - Title Screen: Pretty epic for an NES song. I can appreciate what they did with the limited technology at the time. Very repetitive though and not really my thing.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Apex of the World (Rain): Not even my favorite FE final boss theme, but it's really solid. Easily the best song today.

Apex of the World >>> Chimera Lab >= Birdman > both match 2 songs >= RoboCop 3 Title Screen

VOTES:
Chimera Lab
abstain
The Apex of the World (Rain)

both match 1 songs are good. Not sure what to vote here.

I love/hate match 2. Mechonis is a phantom support, but Flamerock really had to come out with the flute and strings like that. Tough match. Still giving Mechonis the edge for being more interesting, but this hurts.

Both songs in match 3 are solid. Kitsch has elements that remind me both of Mario Kart and (funnily enough) Brain Age music, which is always a plus. However, I don't like some of the instrumental choices in Kitsch, and Erebos has a much stronger melody. For that, I'm giving it to Erebos.

Mechonis >= Flamerock > Erebos > both match 1 songs > Kitsch

Pretty good day.

VOTES
abstain
Mechonis Field
Spiral of Erebos

VOTE
abstain
abstain
Lunar Bass

somehow I can't decide on the first two matches, but match 3 is easy as pie. The Arcana song was a hard pass, and Lunar Bass is pretty nice as usual.

Genshin Impact : Across Dimming Asterisms - This quickly became one of my favorite Genshin songs when I first heard it (and that's saying a lot given how stellar even just the average Genshin song is). The Arabian vibes are strong with this one. Incredible melody and percussion work here. And omg that desert flute is just the icing on the cake. Easily my favorite song of the day hands down.

Zoo Hospital (Wii) : Enclosure South America Jungle - It's pretty nice and pleasant albeit a bit basic. Shout out to the uploader, Fiddler Fove! You're a pretty cool person (yes I have talked with this person personally).

Opoona : Blue Desert Hotel - Nice use of sax (?) (edit: NOPE it's an oboe. That makes more sense considering oboes are used as snake charmers and are probably commonly used in desert pieces) and flutes here. Very pleasant song to listen to even if there are other pieces from this OST that I prefer like Partizans.

Heaven Burns Red : Before I Rise - Long anime opening song vibes. Yeah, it's fine, but I don't really like the vocals much. Never found myself caring for the HBR ost, and this song is no exception unfortunately. The synths are cool though.

The Crystal Key : Portals - It's a really nice and relaxing soundscape. With this piece, I feel like I could just close my eyes and imagine that I'm floating through the universe. It doesn't have much substance outside of being a really cool soundscape, unfortunately, but what is there in this piece is REALLY cool.

Arcaea : Take - The music video is cute. The song itself is.....Solfan 2.0 (albeit much more tolerable than Solfan). Or Bi 2.0 (pejorative). Maybe Bi 2.0 makes more sense because "bi" could also mean "two" in Latin. Yeah, neither are favorable comparisons.

genshin desert song >> opoona desert song >>>>> portals > zoo hospital > before I rise > bi 2.0

VOTES:
Across Dimming Asterisms
Blue Desert Hotel
Portals

Genshin and Opoona CARRY today's picks and it's not even CLOSE.

Just wanted to point out that SS's loop point is said to be 4:37, but the video isn't even 4:37 long (it's 4:35).
Also Astra walkthrough is a cool name, but the song itself is not (mostly bc of the incessant banging at certain points)

Not feeling like doing full commentaries today like I normally do.

SS = Afternoon > Secundum > splatoon song > adieu >>> astra

VOTES:
Afternoon in Crossbell
Secundum Abandoned Mine
Subterranean Sunrise

The Jackbox Party Pack 8: Weapons Drawn - Credits Song: Huh, I guess I've never played this Jackbox game. I don't recognize this. Then again, it's been forever since I've last played one of these games. The background instruments are very cool and are mixed quite nicely. The singing isn't even that bad. The only thing I really don't like is the glissando (?) that one of the background instruments do sometimes; it hurts my ears a bit.

Hades - Good Riddance: Wait, I've never played Hades, but this sounds very familiar. Where have I heard this before? Anyways, it's quite nice with some really good vocal harmony. A bit repetitive, but very emotive and pleasant to listen to.

Cytus II - Fight Another Day (Andy Tunstall Remix): Hmm, not a fan of the singing here. It's not terrible but just done in a style I don't like. What's up with both Deemo and Cytus having solid instrumentation but ALWAYS being a miss when it comes to vocals for me? That being said, this is much more tolerable than the high-pitched childlike vocals in Deemo music.

Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard - Labyrinth IV - Petal Bridge: This is quite nice even if I don't like the lead instrument much. The bass and percussion are really stellar here in particular, and the melody is solid despite being rather basic. Pretty good song overall even if I've heard better from Etrian and from Koshiro.

Sonic CD - Sonic ~ You Can Do Anything: This song has a fun, retro feel to it. A bit short, but not bad at all.

The Kingdom - The Kingdom: A bit too disorganized and wild for my tastes, but I do feel like I could get used to this and enjoy it more on repeated listens. I'm not a fan of the melody, however. It just feels rather awkward and too unconventional. Even if parts of it go a bit far, I still do appreciate the energy this piece has.

Petal Bridge > You Can Do Anything > Good Riddance > Credits Song > The Kingdom >> Fight Another Day

VOTES:
Good Riddance
Labyrinth IV - Petal Bridge
Sonic ~ You Can Do Anything

Kaine: One of the most perfect melodies in all of NieR from what I've heard. Emotional vocals and beautiful piano. I always think of the Lunar Tear in addition to Kaine when I hear this song. Only thing preventing this from 10/10 is the breathing, which is too distracting and loud.

Shining Eyes: It's pretty interesting and has vocals that don't annoy me. Really neat percussion work here.

Afternoon in Crossbell: Really laid-back and pleasant piece. Gotta love the flute here haha

Astra walkthrough: Hmm, not a fan of the instrument that sounds like it's getting banged on something (and not in a good way). The faster background notes and the occasional use of piano are pretty cool, but I don't like a lot of the main instruments used here. This would be a really cool piece to listen to if some of the instruments weren't so grating on my ears.

Aeolic Guardian: The strings and flute combo here are quite lovely. Not much else to say about this one.

Let's Go, Mt. Corel!: Every time I read the title, I think it's gonna say "Mt. Coronet" instead lol
Anyways, this goes pretty hard. Close match.

Kaine > Corel >= Aeolic > Afternoon > Shining >>> Astra

VOTES:
Kain / Salvation
Afternoon in Crossbell
Let's Go, Mt. Corel!

Waveshine_2001 posted...

I will get to matches 1-2 later today hopefully when I get more time.

It's Going Down Now: It's not bad. The vocals don't annoy me (other than the rapping parts, but even the rapping parts don't annoy me as much as most rap). The instrumentation is excellent. Overall, it's not entirely my thing but it's kinda cool.

Grounseed - Shop Demo: It has a nice retro feel to it. It's not doing too much for me personally, but it's a bit interesting and has nice progression.

Arbury Whistles : Hey, I remember this song from Hindsight 2022! I don't recall putting it in my top 10, but it was still one of the better songs from that contest for sure. Flutes and strings are always welcome, and this one's no exception. The happy Celtic feel just puts me in a better mood. Very fun piece.

Farde Mal Diavolo -Destroy Evil, then Come- : Okay, the very beginning with the annoying blaring vocals was an immediate turn-off. I thought to myself, "Oh boy, another god awful vocal song I'll just have to sit through." But not long after that, it got significantly better. The vocals for the rest of the song are a nice addition as opposed to an annoyance, and the instrumentation is awesome. I especially love the use of castanets here which really add to the uniqueness of the piece and makes it stand out more (I don't hear castanets often in JRPG-type music). The strings towards the end of the piece were also great and very emotive.

Mario Kart 8 >> Arbury Whistles > Farde Mal Diavolo -Destroy Evil, then Come- >>>> Its Going Down Now >= Shop Demo >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> side A

Remaining VOTES:
Its Going Down Now
Arbury Whistles

I will get to matches 1-2 later today hopefully when I get more time.

Mario Kart 8: Just an absolute banger. I especially love the Super Mario Kart reference towards the end of the loop. It's not even my favorite MK title theme which goes to show just how consistently good the title themes have been throughout the series.

side A: this song has NO business being nearly 13 minutes long. I don't even hate longer video game songs necessarily; I love prime #4507 and Dancing Mad just as a couple of examples. Herald of Darkness, which is also around 13 minutes long, was one of my top 20ish favorite songs from Supra's 2023 contest. Long songs CAN work if they actually have a clear progression and flow to them, but this song is anything but that.

The first several minutes are literal noise and that's it. The rest of the song vaguely sounds like music but seems very disorganized. Maybe that's the point of the song, but it's not doing it any favors for me. The percussion is cool and one of the few positives I can say about this song. It's not absolutely terrible, but this is one of the worst longer video game songs I've ever heard.

VOTE:
Mario Kart 8

Sog-Gee's Realm - Yep, that definitely sounds like Wise. As per usual Wise standard, this is really solid. Love the use of instrumentation here. It doesn't reach the same heights as some of his best DKC works, but it's still really cool (no pun intended).

Neat Beat Retreat - Copacabana is a cool song even if it's not one of my favorite 70s songs (mostly because it's such a depressing song in spite of the upbeat music). This isn't nearly as good as the aforementioned song but it's not bad.

Can't Wait Until Night - Yeah this is good and a solid combination of Can't Wait Until Night and Heart of Fire, but honestly I'm disappointed that this is the version that got in. I nominated the Harmony of Despair version a couple of years ago, and it got NO support. I am baffled how this is the version that got in despite (imo) the HoD version being an improvement upon this song in every conceivable way.

Tap de Papapaya (Long Version) - The voices are pretty funny. Honestly this sounds like a song I'd like more ironically than unironically. The beat is unironically good though. If I try to listen to this completely unironically, however, I find the vocals annoying. Yeah, it's cool ig but I can't really take it seriously if I want to enjoy it.

Rubia - It's nice and sentimental with a pretty solid melody. I'm sure it works great in the context of the game especially. I actually don't mind the vocals here.

Birdo II - I'm sure Yoshi and Birdo would like this song. Anyways, yeah it's a pretty cool song but the music video is easily the best part. Not sure how to feel about the scoliosis joke as someone with scoliosis but otherwise it was really funny.

Really don't know which of the last two I prefer. Think I'll be abstaining there.

VOTES:
Sog-Gee's Realm (Water)
Can't Wait Until Night
abstain

Nocturnal 2097 (Long Version)
Badlands
Deserted - Younger Brother and Elder Sister and... (Stage3)

Waveshine_2001 posted...

VOTE:
Aurora's Theme

Aurora's Theme - There's a reason why I checked out this ost a while back. Most of the songs are just great, this being no exception. It's so poignant and beautiful. Lovely piece.

Aurora - Nice ambience. I'm sure it works well in the context of the game. Outside of context, it's a nice piece to relax to but has little substance outside of that.

Will get to the other two later.

Speed of Light: It's pretty nice and groovy. I don't actually mind the vocals.

Zero Gravity Area: Ooh the synths here, specifically the backing ones, are great.

Redeem the Future: The choir is so epic along with the orchestration. It almost reminds me of NieR music (complimentary).

Stage 3 - Voile, the Magic Library: Really fun song. Man, this match is rather hard!

Redeem the Future = Aurora's Theme >= Voile >> Zero Gravity Area >= Speed of Light >= Aurora

REMAINING VOTES:
Zero Gravity Area
Redeem the Future

VOTE:
Aurora's Theme

Aurora's Theme - There's a reason why I checked out this ost a while back. Most of the songs are just great, this being no exception. It's so poignant and beautiful. Lovely piece.

Aurora - Nice ambience. I'm sure it works well in the context of the game. Outside of context, it's a nice piece to relax to but has little substance outside of that.

Will get to the other two later.

Leonhart4 posted...

Super Metroid
Symphony of the Night
Hollow Knight
Ori and the Blind Forest

Wow we really had the exact same 4 let's go

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Super Metroid
Hollow Knight
Ori and the Blind Forest

The first two are shoe-ins. The other two can be more debatable imo.

Burger King Futo Lettuce (Futo's Theme)
abstain
LIGHTNING BUG/MOO

Match 1 has two pretty good songs tbh. Satie kinda wins me over in the end though.

Match 2 is hard. Even knowing the context of the Pokemon song, I can't say I love it. It's still good though. Love Psalm is a classic even if it's not one of my favorite classic video game songs.

I'll be honest and say I don't care much for either song in match 3 but my hatred for vocal music strikes again so I'll be taking the non-vocal song here.

Declaration! Imperial Floral Assault Group - Wow, vocals I actually LIKE? Amazing. This is so cheesy but I actually really enjoy it. The melody is so fun, the instrumentation is banger, and the vocals are actually on point (rare for vgm). It sounds like a very old anime show opening. Pretty cool! Special thanks to dowolf for providing the translations.

b10 - This has a relaxing yet intense vibe to it. Sounds like it would make for a cool addition to a futuristic soundscape.

Memories of Memories - My general thoughts on this are mostly the same as my thoughts on b10 except for the fact that this is a bit less intense. Very cool piece.

Somnia Memorias - Aw, man. I usually like Shimomura's music, but this just isn't cutting it for me. The vocals make me squirm; I just really can't stand them.

I will say, though, ironically enough, this song reminds me of one of my favorite pieces of vgm ever: Suna Gin from Aka. This is not only because it has vocals but because the instrumentation at 2:00 in particular sounds very similar to the aforementioned song's instrumental section. So that's cool at least.

Tower of Memories - Hmm, not exactly my thing but it's interesting I suppose.

Softbank - Wow, the instrumentation here and the use of synths is phenomenal! The percussion is pretty great too. The song is a little all over the place, however, and I wish it had a clearer melody. Still a fascinating piece though.

Declaration > Softbank >= Memories of Memories > b10 >>>> Tower of Memories >>>Somnia Memorias

VOTES:
Declaration! Imperial Floral Assault Group
Memories of Memories
Softbank

Twin Moon - Appreciate the chill vibes. The melody is kinda repetitive at certain points, however. That being said, the chimes (?) kinda remind me of PMD, which is quite nice.

Funky Dealer - Not exactly my thing but I suppose it's kinda fun.

Burger King - Holllllddd on did I just hear a bit of Satie's Gymnopdie No.1 at 1:28??? I think this is the second video game song I've come across that references that song (the first being the very beginning of the Ocarina of Time Title theme). That alone makes this song cool. Also if this doesn't retire, I hope one of the McDonald's DS game songs gets in and goes up against this song in a future year so we can get BK vs McDonald's!!! Their battle will be LEGENDARY!

KRIBY - This is pretty cool too; parts of the samples even remind me of Undertale. I don't think it's on quite the same level as say Blizzard Bridge but yeah it's still solid.

A S T R A L P L A N E - Oooh spo0ky. Yeah I'm sure this is amazing in context, but out of context, it doesn't do too much. I do like the progression the song has throughout the piece, however.

Spring Wind Skylark - flute solo good.

Skylark > BK > Kirby > Astral > Twin Moon > Funky Dealer

VOTES:
FM04: Twin Moon
Burger King Futo Lettuce (Futo's Theme)
Spring Wind Skylark

abstain
Wild Woods
About That...

Match 1 is too hard to decide on.

sergiocornaga posted...

It sounds like it should just stay as-is, and I'm fine with that!

if you don't mind, could you keep your uploads public please? If I ever want to come back to About That on my own time, honestly, I'd rather listen to the Moonrise Rapture intro with it.

Just want to say that shout out to Declaration for being a song with vocals I actually ENJOY (I usually don't enjoy most vocals and am notorious on the Supra server for being the resident vocal hater).

Aria Math
Declaration! Imperial Floral Assault Group

don't have time for match 3 oops

All right, so whats the verdict then?

sergiocornaga posted...

Here's yet another link swap suggestion, this time with a couple of videos I prepared myself. I noticed the intro of Paradise Killer - About That... seemed odd, and it turns out the reason for that is on the album it's on it's preceded by a 43-second long track that serves as an introduction to it, so I made a version that merges the two together. Not satisfied to leave it there, I looked into whether there was another option, and there is: there's also an instrumental version of the track on the album with a 'clean' intro, so I made another version that combines the first 7 seconds of that with the remainder of the vocal version. This was mostly for fun, so I don't mind if people ultimately just want to stick with the topic upload- even if it cuts in abruptly, it still has some cool noises. Original supporters, feel free to express your views (@azuarc @Fluttershy_Pony @slykirby @TheArkOfTurus @Waveshine_2001 )!

A) Original Topic Upload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCHXvC-wx8
B) Moonrise Rapture/About That... Combination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQkljMKBW8
C) "Instrumental" Intro Combination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhhY7ceHaXc

B >= C > A tbh but idc much if we stick with A. A is the one that got second in Hindsight 2022 after all! It can still work.
Thank you for actually uploading the alternative versions. Appreciated.

banshiryuu posted...

Day 1 Results!

New Battle!!! 39 v 26 FightFirstDeusExMachina_Dearest
Main Title 25 v 39 Awakening ~ Nrburgring Suite
Live & Learn ...Main Theme of "Sonic Adventure 2" 33 v 30 New Bodhum ~ New Bodhum -Aggressive Mix-

3/3 for me on day 1 woo!

New Battle!!! was one of my favorite discoveries from Supra's 2023 vgm contest so I'm happy to see it win here. I think it could be my second favorite from that contest tbh, only clearly beaten by Genshin Impact's Fontaine theme.

Main Theme and Suite were both pretty cool. On the Supra server, we were making a ton of Donk puns lol as well as some Suite puns too, so this match was a lot of fun to discuss. I'm happy for Suite to finally make a return and a solid win in, though. It's definitely a great song.

Bodhum is good, but I'm glad to see that Live and Learn finally got a win in. Even if it doesn't make it any farther, I'm happy for it to finally win something. Bodhum will hopefully have its day another time.

VOTES:
Awakening ~ Nrburgring Suite
Live & Learn ...Main Theme of "Sonic Adventure 2"

Okay I said I'd come back later on to vote on matches 2-3 so here they are. Voted on match 1 already a while back.

Waveshine_2001 posted...

Voting :
New Battle!!!

Okay, it's very late for me so I'm only going to vote in match 1 for now. I'll try to get to the other two matches tomorrow (well technically today) if I can.

What I find really funny is that both songs in match 1 are not only fitting as the first match in the entire contest (NEW battle and fight FIRST) but both were also in one of the two 2023 contests (yes we have two contests for every year) on Supra. New Battle was in the main 2023 contest and FightFirst is currently in the Hindsight 2023 contest.

On top of that, then there's 3 songs up today that have been in vgmc 6 (Live and Learn, New Bodhum, and Nurburgring Suite).

Okay, so apparently I was slightly off here. The one in Hindsight is actually FightFifthDeusExMachina_Letheia (feat. Enoa (Hikaru Tono)). Wow, their names sure are similar.

Voting :
New Battle!!!

Okay, it's very late for me so I'm only going to vote in match 1 for now. I'll try to get to the other two matches tomorrow (well technically today) if I can.

What I find really funny is that both songs in match 1 are not only fitting as the first match in the entire contest (NEW battle and fight FIRST) but both were also in one of the two 2023 contests (yes we have two contests for every year) on Supra. New Battle was in the main 2023 contest and FightFirst is currently in the Hindsight 2023 contest.

On top of that, then there's 3 songs up today that have been in vgmc 6 (Live and Learn, New Bodhum, and Nurburgring Suite).

rwlh posted...

That Staff Roll link sounds a bit...slower in tempo, I think?

Sounds the same to me.

junglegirl posted...

I don't like it for some odd reason

Gall posted...

@Chinballz @Waveshine_2001 and the other Mario Kart 64 - Staff Roll nominators I can't @ for some reason, want to use this link? It has clearer audio than the one in the sheet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuuwLUvYMqM

Personally, I think it sounds fine. Not a big difference, but it does sound clearer. I actually do slightly prefer the one you suggested. Looks like we're not in unanimous agreement, however. Maybe poll everyone at large on which one they prefer/hj

++ dankey kang | dk rap | broken link
+ Rick Astley | Never Gonna Give You Up | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
++ Big Chungus | Main Theme | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB4d+YfFgaME
+ Trombone Champ | Careless Whisper | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia8rVH-fBJM

+ Undertale | Battle Against a True Hero | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWBtpBwzzdM

dropping:
- Art of Rally | The Perfect Corner | https://youtu.be/OAXOqAo8zeg
- Scarlet Nexus | - Old OSF Hospital -the other- | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtSsDSmuej8

adding:
+ Cassette Beasts | Your Inception | https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DewpbrM67nE
+ Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane | Sax of Opportunity | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRo-756Qq4o
+ Genshin Impact | Across Dimming Asterisms | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvLZzUcyDWY

doubling
+ Xenoblade Chronicles X | CODENAMEZ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w4bOYDNypc

- Suikoden IV | La Mer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc7evTrULxk
- Mario Kart 8 | Mute City | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yW4CMjpeNk

+ Mad Rat Dead | MAD LAST WORLD | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iawJijWDP3s
+ Xenoblade Chronicles X | CODENAMEZ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w4bOYDNypc